CHENNAI: Clearing the decks for former AIADMK minister TM Selvaganapathy, currently with the ruling DMK, to contest in the upcoming elections, the Madras Court on Tuesday set aside the conviction and sentence of two-year imprisonment in the infamous cremation shed scam.
Justice G Jayachandran pronounced the orders in a 2014 appeal filed by the ex-minister by setting aside the order of the CBI court which convicted him along with four others including two IAS officers. “As a result, the judgment of conviction is set aside. The order of acquittal from the charge under Section 120 B of IPC (criminal conspiracy) is confirmed,” the judge said in the order.
The judge concluded that the charge of misconduct with corrupt intention or illegal means or abuse of position against the accused persons, including Selvaganapathy and three government officers, is not made out. The CBI court, in 2014, convicted Selvaganapathy, two IAS officers - JT Acharyalu, special commissioner and secretary of the Rural Development department (who passed away) and M Satyamurthy, director of the department - and M Krishnamurthy, project officer, DRDA, Nagapattinam and T Bharathi, a supplier of construction materials, for causing loss of Rs 23 lakh to the exchequer in construction of cremation sheds in Nagapattinam district under the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana in 1995.
They were sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment. Following the conviction, Selvaganapathy who had already switched over to DMK and became a Rajya Sabha member, resigned from the post of MP. “This court finds no evidence to indicate one to four of the accused persons, as public servants, by some means had abused their official position to obtain any pecuniary advantage to themselves or to any other person,” the order said.
It also noted the fallacy in the trial court judgment occurred by giving a narrow interpretation of the JRY manual and by holding construction of cremation sheds for Adi Dravidar is not a community asset. The trial court has not taken into consideration the prosecution witnesses are not sure that the work was done by outsiders alone.